


Wake Me Up

by Unbreakable_Red_Riot



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Angst, Arthur and Martin Centric, Depression, Friendship, Gen, I didn't think I would continue it, I'm Sorry, Monologue, Post Episode: s04e06 Yverdon-les-Bains, Two-Shot, but I did!, not your typical Post Yverdon-Les-Bains fic, suprise, what have I done?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-08
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2017-12-22 18:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/916635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unbreakable_Red_Riot/pseuds/Unbreakable_Red_Riot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur keeps Martin up to date with everything that’s happening at MJN.</p><p>Post-Yverdon-Les-Bains with a twist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When September Ends

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!

_"Hey, Skip. Now, I don‘t expect you to answer. I know you won’t. And that’s fine, it’s not like it’s your fault. I don’t want you to feel guilty about it or anything, although it’s not as if you’re listening to any of this, anyways, so... Oh, gosh, I‘m being awfully negative. Sorry._

_“MJN is kinda stuck right now. With only one pilot, we can’t exactly go many places. But we’ll manage. Mum says she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve still. Maybe Herc can help out. I’ll keep you up to date about all of that, I promise._

_“Well. There’s not much more for me to tell you, except… I miss you. We all do, even Mum, though she probably won’t ever admit it. I can tell that she does, though._

_"We’ll see you soon, yeah?”_

**~oOo~**

_“Hello. It’s me again. And… God, I-I can only wish that this will change things, but I shouldn’t get my hopes too high. It’s just… if you’re listening… please come back. I really, really miss you. I hope everything’s better for you. Hope things are sorting themselves out. Hope it’s quiet. Calm. Well, er, it’s certainly calmer than MJN ever was or ever will be._

_“I hope you think about us, sometimes. Or, dream about us. Look back on all of our great memories. ‘Cause the times we shared, it was brilliant, you know. Maybe you’ll think back on all of it. Smile a bit. Laugh, even._

_“We think about you a lot. Every day. MJN is still not doing so well, and a part of me is getting really worried. But things will look up, like they always do. I hope things are looking up for you, Skip. I especially hope that things are looking up for you now. All the time._

_“Sorry, sorry, now I’m tearing up. I’m being stupid. Stupid and overemotional. Sorry. I just really miss you a whole lot._

_“…Please come back.”_

**~oOo~**

_“Well. Hi. Er._

_“Sorry I haven’t been keeping in touch too well. Things have been a bit hectic at MJN. Had a few jobs these past weeks, so we’ve been keeping ourselves busy._

_“As soon as Herc heard about our situation, he declined his offer from Swiss Airways and took your place. Well, technically Douglas is Captain now, and Herc’s First Officer. He’s not even getting paid, either, although I think he might be planning on proposing to Mum soon, so that doesn’t really matter. Douglas even thinks Mum’ll say yes, and you know how Douglas is always right about everything._

_“Oh, Douglas is fine, too. He’s coping. Even gets along with Herc most of the time, for all of our sakes, which I’m awfully thankful for. We’ve just all been so tightly strung lately. A wedding would really lift our spirits, I think. I hope you can make it when it happens. That is, if it happens. We all still miss you terribly._

_“Mr. Birling says ‘hullo’, too. He left you a tip this last Birling Day, even though you aren’t really here and even though Ireland won. He said it's because Douglas didn't steal the whiskey this time, so he was feeling especially generous. But I think he might miss you, just a bit. You are a great Skipper, Skip. I’ll just keep the tip safe with me until you come around._

_“And that’s about it, I think. I'll talk to you later."_

**~oOo~**

_“Mum worries about me. She says I’ve changed a lot these past few months. I mean, I haven’t noticed much of a difference. I'm just... me. Just same old Arthur. But she says that I've gotten more mature, that I’ve grown up. I don’t know, maybe I have. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It's better this way, for everyone. Isn't it?_

_"I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, but you know how I can ramble sometimes. I suppose I like to think that you enjoy hearing from me. I mean, I don't actually know if you do, but you haven’t shown any signs of being bothered by it, either. And I won’t stop rambling until you do._

_“Oh, and we got a letter from Princess Theresa last week. She talked a lot about you. You know, just keeping tabs with us. She might even visit us soon. I keep hoping that it might help for you to know that. Like, maybe it’ll encourage you to be here when she comes around. But I'm being silly thinking that, I know._

_“Nothing else to report, Captain. And I best be off, anyways. We’ve got to be in Glasgow by three to take a hen-do to Paris. Until next time.”_

**~oOo~**

_“Herc and Mum got married yesterday. It was all low-key, not a lot of guests. Just me, and Douglas, and a few chaps from the airfield. So don’t feel bad that you couldn’t make it._

_“Theresa wanted to come, too, but she had some Princess duties to attend to, which I totally understand. She did have a gift for Mum and Herc, though. She paid for the whole wedding, which was very thoughtful._

_“Wish you could've been there, Skip._

_“Every day, I wish you could be here.”_

**~oOo~**

_“Mum’s mad at you._

_“She finally got around to clearing out your locker in the port-a-cabin –- you know, so that Herc can put his things somewhere other than on her desk. And in the locker, she found a letter in your handwriting addressed to Swiss Airways. One that you never got around to sending._

_“And since she's read it, Mum’s been so, so angry. Douglas, as well. Even Herc. And I don't know, I might be angry, too. I haven't decided yet._

_“Why weren’t you going to accept their offer, Skip?_

_"Mum called you an idiot, as well as a few other choice words, but I suppose that’s nothing new. I did catch her having a bit of a cry afterwards, though don’t tell her I told you that._

_“And why don’t you ever respond? Why? I miss hearing your voice, I miss seeing your face, I-I miss you! I want you to come back and be Captain and make everything just the way it used to be, and I'm worried. I'm so, so worried about you, and I can't... I just can't..._

_“S-sorry, I… I’m doing it again. It's stupid... Stupid... Irresponsible... I shouldn’t be crying, not in front of you._

_“We’re going to hear from you soon, yeah? Promise me that, Skip. Please, promise me that one thing. I don’t like talking to myself all that much.”_

**~oOo~**

_“I feel as though I'm living a night terror, one where things just keep going wrong no matter how hard I try to make it stop. One where I wish and pray with all of my heart for everything to get better, but they never do. Not really. It's been months and months and I shouldn't still be this upset. I should just snap out of it any day now, but... but... I can't._

_"Wake up, Skip. For me. We miss you. I miss you. Please, just wake up. The accident was months ago. The doctors said you would be awake by now._

_"Why won’t you wake up?”_


	2. When It's All Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time has passed, things have changed, and the most cheerful man alive has forgotten what it's like to be cheery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because people asked me to, I have written a second and probably final part. Enjoy.

_"Um, h-hello. How do even I start? I guess I just sort of kept putting it off. And we've been doing really well at MJN this past year, and I don't have the free time to take the trip all the way to London to talk to you every month or two. I am sorry, Skip. Hopefully the nurses were good company._

_"I really don't have much to tell you. I'm just checking in on you, is all. I've been doing fine myself. Things still feel wrong, but wrong has become normal. But enough about me. How've you been, up there in that head of yours? Good? I've heard that your physical therapy has been doing well. That's... that's good to hear._

_"...What am I even doing here?"_

**~oOo~**

_"Some days, I think I'm okay. I think that, maybe I've reached the light at the end of the tunnel. But after a few days, it always dims and then I'm not right again. I've tried taking up hobbies to take my mind off of it. Like cycling, or photography. They don't work for long._

_"I'm sad, Martin. I'm sad, and I don't even know why. I'll be in sitting my room, or driving to the airfield, and I'll just start crying and I can't stop. I either can't manage to get myself to sleep at night, or I can't bear to get myself out of bed in the morning. Douglas says I should get help, but how can I even think about getting help when I don't know what's wrong?_

_"I feel like my mind is a string, and everything stretches it further than it should ever go. And I'm scared that one day something even worse is going to happen and the string is going to snap."_

**~oOo~**

_"Mum has cancer._

_"I shouldn't even be here. I should be with her, 'cause she's not doing so well and I'm so worried. But... since then, she's given MJN to me. Permanently. I guess it is really My Jet Now. I'm the boss._

_"I don't know what I'm doing. The lawyers try to help. The doctors try to explain everything to me. I'm doing the best I can, I really am, but even then I still don't know what's going on and I can tell everyone's getting frustrated with me. I can't help it, though. I can't help that I'm dumb. Always have been, always will be. And dumb people like me just need to stay out of everyone else's way. I need to leave the lawyers and doctors to their jobs and hope that they do it right._

_"But Mum will get better, Skip. She will. I don't care what the doctors say. I mean, look at you. Your doctors were wrong. You were supposed to get better, and you haven't. So maybe her doctors are wrong, too. Maybe, since they say she'll get worse, she'll get better._

_"I'm not making much sense, am I? But then, where's the surprise there?"_

**~oOo~**

_"I don't really know what to say, so I might as well get to the point: I need to help Herc pay for Mum's treatment. I'm selling G-ERTI to Dad._

_"MJN is mine. I can do what I want with it, so I might as well get rid of it. He's given me a generous offer, and he says I would be an idiot not to accept. So I've made up my mind. And there's nothing Mum can do about it, nothing Herc can do about it, nothing Douglas can do about it, nothing even you can do about it._

_"So. MJN Air is over. Heh. I honestly thought I would be sadder about it, but... I'm not. I'm more happy than anything. It sure is a big weight off of my shoulders. A relief, really. I won't even miss it._

_"... I can't even tell if I'm lying or not."_

**~oOo~**

_"I've moved here to London. Well, not quite -- I'm still a ways out, a few miles away from Mum and Herc's new place. Kinda near the hospital. Kinda not near the airport. And that's a good thing, I think. We'd lived in Fitton for a long time. We'd been on planes for even longer. It was time for a scenery change. I don't think I would've been able to settle for boring little Fitton, anyways -- not after I'd travelled the world for over half my life. At least I can get lost in London._

_"Though Douglas is staying put. I reckon it's so he can stay close to one of his daughters. He's not quite ready to retire, so I think he's taking up some job on the airfield. I haven't really talked to him in a few weeks, so I don't know for sure."_

**~oOo~**

_"Theresa is getting married. I saw it on the news a few days ago. Some Lord bloke from an Eastern European country I'm not too familiar with. 'The Royal Wedding of the Year', it's being called. As far as I know, none of us have been invited._

_"Also, I've finally gotten a new job. I'm a bellboy at a Marriott, just like I told you I could be. And it turns out that being a bellboy is not so different from being a steward. There are more doors, and more people at once. But there's still luggage to carry and food to deliver and people to get a shouting from._

_"I... I've even managed to meet someone here. Her name is Susan. She works at the bar, and we've gone out a few times these past two months, and... and I really like her. She's what's helping me through this. Around Suzie, I feel better, just a bit. I don't know what I would do without her. Maybe things will work out between us. I hope they do._

_"The cancer's spread, too. I'm not sure I can bring myself to say much more, except... I'm scared."_

**~oOo~**

_"Oh God. Sorry. This is the first time you've heard from me in almost a year, and I'm crying. Great._

_"Sorry, sorry. It's just... in these past few months, Mum's gotten critical. Oh God, oh God. She's not going to make it another year. She's my best friend. You were my best friend. Douglas was my best friend. Suzie... Susan was my best friend, too, for a bit. Funny how you can get to thinking that things will last..._

_"... I-I was engaged for a while. I never got around to telling you. But I'm not anymore, so it doesn't really matter, does it? Susan changed her mind. Decided she couldn't commit to something like that. And it hurt, her saying that. But no matter how painful it was, if it made her happy, I was okay with it. But then Susan quit her job, and then she moved to Wales, and I still don't know why. She won't answer her phone, she won't respond to any message I send her. She made me better, gave me hope, but now that she's gone... it's like I'm relapsing._

_"Why do I keep doing this? Why? I'm giving up on you, Martin. I should've given up on you a while ago. You're not coming back. You're not. I'm not going to walk in here one day and you be alright. It's not going to happen, ever. I don't know what made me think it would for so long._

_"I can't keep coming in to check on you. I've thought long and hard about this, and I've figured out what's wrong with me. It's wishful thinking. Wishful thinking is what's holding me back. That's what's been making me sad. It's foolish and lazy, just hoping that things will get better, 'cause when they don't... then I've just wasted my life away, waiting for nothing._

_"I'm not going to live like this anymore. I won't take it. So this might be the last time you hear from me. I'm done doing this."_

**~oOo~**

_"... I came back._

_"I don't know why, I really don't. I don't even want to be here._

_"It's been four years since the Icarus accident. Four years, three month, and sixteen days since my life started dying away. And I'm still here, desperately trying to find some strand of hope to grab on to. I'm exhausted. I'm miserable. I feel emptier than I've ever felt before. I'm angry. And it feels so, so wrong. This is not me._

_"Please. God, please. If you won't let me move on, then at least give me hope. Please..."_

_..._

_"... Martin? Martin, are you there? Can you hear me? Oh my God. Doctor Shaw! Doctor Shaw, he can hear me! He's squeezing my hand! He can hear me, I know it!_

_"Martin?_

"Martin!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment with your thoughts! Not Beta-ed or Brit-Picked. Please point out any typos that you see.


End file.
